Word: testers
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...Burns, battling personal scandal with his links to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff as well as voter discontent with the Iraq war, congratulated Tester, a farmer and state legislator...
...After what started as a 10% to 12% lead for Tester, it came down to a very close race, and Burns actually won most of the 56 Montana counties, including edging Tester in populous Yellowstone County, site of Billings, the state's largest city. Burns triumphed in the smaller, rural counties, as he has always done, and any new Tester votes in those places were ultimately irrelevant, according to the final tally...
...Where Tester made a difference was in the traditional Democratic and labor cities of Missoula, Butte, Anaconda, Great Falls and the capital city of Helena. Tellingly, Tester also won the counties containing the state's seven Indian reservations, where Burns has never been popular...
...linking Burns to Abramoff. Then Burns compounded matters by badmouthing wildland firefighters and remaining devoted to Bush and the Iraq war, which hurt his image among women and independents in the Democratic counties. Enough of Montana's independent voters showed their displeasure with Burns to squeak Tester...
...Tester won only 14 of the 56 counties, and some of those, just barely. But it was apparently enough. So Montana, which overwhelmingly re-elected its lone G.O.P. Congressman, essentially remains a red state. Brian Schweitzer's election in 2004 to governor can be considered a fluke, as he was running against a scandal-ridden, incompetent G.O.P. incumbent. Neither his victory, nor Tester's, can be considered a trend toward blue in the West, as some Eastern pundits have interpreted it. Voters in those traditional G.O.P. counties demonstrated that no amount of scandal could sour them on Burns...